CHEM 155: Science of Cooking

Students in cooking class

(4 credits)

4 weeks in Siena, Italy

Prof. Marcia France

CHEM 154-155 is a non-majors science sequence that satisfies FDR SL. No previous college level science is required. Course material includes an introduction to the structure of molecules as well as their inter- and intramolecular interactions, with an emphasis on those species of importance to food and cooking. Additional science topics include cell structure of plants and meats and methods of heat transfer. Chemical reactivity as it relates to cooking, fermentation, food preservation and spoilage will also be discussed.

CHEM 154 will meet 1:25-5:25 p.m. Friday afternoons during Winter Term and will consist of a lecture followed by laboratory. CHEM 155 will take place over four weeks in Siena, Italy in the Spring Term. CHEM 155 will consist of daily lectures as well as nine cooking lessons at a nearby cooking school. Students will get to eat what they cook. Field trips will include a winery, an olive oil factory, an agrotourism farm, a cheese factory, a bakery and a gelateria. Students will have access to library and computer facilities as well as internet access at IES Siena. Accommodation will be in shared apartments with kitchens.

NOTE: The prerequisite is CHEM 154, to be taken in Winter Term 2017 on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis. Fulfilling FDR SL through CHEM 155 requires a grade of S in CHEM 154. Students earning a U in CHEM 154 may not take CHEM 155 but are still liable for all costs of the program. Graded material in CHEM 154 will be counted toward the CHEM 155 grade. 

Program Fee (paid to W&L): $3,430 (This fee includes accommodation, all travel within Italy, cooking school tuition (including 9 meals), orientation in Italy, field trips and site visits, 5 additional meals, a welcome reception, 24/7 emergency support from IES Abroad.)

Estimated Additional Expenses: Airfare - $1500; ground transportation in the U.S. - $50; additional meals - $600; Italian cell phone or international cellular plan - $50; personal spending money to cover personal items, souvenirs, free time activities, etc. - $500.

For further details, please contact Professor France, francem@wlu.edu.